Based on the famous series of dialogues between Francois Truffaut and Alfred Hitchcock from the 1960s the book moves chronologically through Hitchcock s films to discuss his career techniques and effects he achieved It changed the way Hitchcock was perceived as a popular director of suspense films such as Psycho and The Birds and revealed to moviegoers and critics the depth of Hitchcock s perception and his mastery of the art form As a result of the changed perceptions about Hitchcock his masterpiece Vertigo hit the No 1 slot in Sight & Sound s recent poll of film makers and critics displacing Citizen Kane as the Best Film of all time